Lynk is turning 1 next week, and he sure has develop some new aggression towards other dogs. From the day we got him until about 7 months old, we were going to dog parks and socializing him as much as possible. Up until recently he was doing great with other dogs as we've socialize him a bunch since he was a puppy. He's great with kids and other people who visit our home, but as of recently he's become very dominant and aggressive towards other dogs. We notice that it primarily happens when he is on his leash or if we notice the other dog doesn't like it and try to hold him back he then becomes very uneasy. He isn't fixed yet, could that be part of his recent development of dominance and aggression? He is just such a ball of love and now it's started to really scare us when he acts out aggressively. Also living in Colorado we always deal with a lot of people not using leashes and when an off leash do approaches him, we hold back on the leash and he gets very upset. Anyways, any feedback to help us get him back in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Well 1st off, as a native NE resident, I must say that it really is difficult to offer advice for a dog wearing Bronco colors...lol, JK.

A couple things come to mind. 1st off, he's reaching the age where he will try to push boundaries. So you are going to have to make sure he understands your rules and follows them. He is going to look to you for direction. You suggest that you have a bunch of apprehension when he is in these situations and he is reading that, which puts him into protection mode. Holding him back tells him that you are unsure, and he is getting defensive. For a Chow the best defense is offense.

Most breeds are standoffish when encountering a chow, so the meeting must be on equal footing, with some 'feeling out time'. You and the other dogs owner need to be relaxed and let the dogs say hello. Not all dogs are going to get along, so be prepared for that, but wait in the back a bit and see how it goes.